Alcan at a glance
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Alcan is one of the most international aluminium companies in the world. It has operations and sales offices in more than thirty countries, and employs approximately 39,000 people.
Alcan is involved in nearly every stage of the aluminium industry from mining to recycling. It has eight bauxite mines in six countries, totaling about 400 million tonnes of demonstrated bauxite reserves. Its smelter system is among the lowest cost in the world with almost 1,700 kt of annual capacity, mostly drawing on its own hydroelectric power resources. The new Alma smelter currently under construction will increase this total by over 300 kt. It is a leading producer of flat rolled products used in beverage cans, automotive and other sectors, supplied by its world class aluminium rolling mills in North America, Europe and Brazil. It also has a growing participation in the recycling industry with annual recycling capacity of 772,000 tonnes.
During the past five years the company has refocused its activities on its core business of primary aluminium and world class fabrication. It has divested more than 55 businesses, using the proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet and invest in its high quality, low-cost smelting and fabrication system. During the same period, Alcan became an EVA( company, requiring all its operations and investments to be value-creating for its shareholders.
In 1998, Alcan's sales and operating revenues were approximately 7.8 billion dlrs contributing to a net income of 399 million dlrs. The principal markets for trading in Alcan's common shares are the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. The common shares are also traded on the Montreal, Vancouver, Chicago, Pacific, London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Swiss stock exchanges.
Pechiney at a Glance
Pechiney is a worldwide industrial company based in France with two core businesses, aluminium (production and fabricated products) and packaging